Funding to expand collaborative program in nuclear engineering education

WASHINGTON ,DC– The Department of Energy (DOE) today awarded a $375,000 grant to two universities in Georgia to establish a collaborative nuclear engineering program.  The partnership between Clark Atlanta University, a minority-serving higher education institution in Atlanta, Ga., and Georgia Tech -- one of the nation’s premier engineering universities -- will provide new opportunities in nuclear science and engineering for undergraduate students at Clark Atlanta University.

“We applaud Clark Atlanta and Georgia Tech for their commitment to educating and preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers,” Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said.  “This is the seventh partnership that the department has sponsored between minority-serving institutions and other university nuclear engineering programs.  These initiatives are important to empowering our nation’s youth to succeed in life.”

The DOE grant, awarded over three years through a competitive peer review process, will help Clark Atlanta establish an undergraduate minor in nuclear engineering.  It will also allow several outstanding Clark Atlanta students to enroll in the master’s and doctoral programs at Georgia Tech.  Under this program, the students will learn about the technical and scientific issues associated with nuclear science and engineering and gain the opportunity to enter one of the highest-paying technical careers in the United States.

This new partnership will involve a significant effort on the part of the faculty and administrators from both institutions.  The program will involve developing a new curriculum to support the Clark Atlanta minor degree program.  The students entering the program will have greater access to DOE national laboratories, research programs and educational assets.

Under the Energy Department’s Nuclear Engineering University Partnership Program, more than 60 students at minority-serving institutions have entered studies in nuclear science and technology.

Additional information on the department’s science education initiative is available at http://www.energy.gov/. Information on other DOE nuclear science and engineering educational initiatives that are sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology is available at http://www.nuclear.gov/.